Car-coupling



(No Model.)

T. L. McKEEN.

GAR COUPLING. No. 430,744. Patented June 24, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS L. MOKEEN, OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE THUR- MOND OAR COUPLING COMPANY, OF WEST VIRGINIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,744, dated June 24, 1890.

Application filed March 20, 1890.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. MCKEEN, a citizen of theUnited States,residingat Easton, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a coupler embodying my invention, the pivoted nose being open and the locking-pin raised preparatory to coupling, part of the head of the locking-pin being broken away. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section of the same, the pivoted nose being in the position it occupies when the cars are coupled. Fig. 3 is a detached view of the drawhead, partly broken away. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the pivoted nose, and Fig. 5 a detached view of the lock or locking-pin.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

My present invention relates to the construction of locking mechanism for that class of car-couplings usually termed twin-jaw couplings, because the parts are duplicates; and said invention may be applied either to the Janney type or that wherein a pivoted nose provided with a rearwardly-extending tail-piece is secured by a pivot-pin passing through the knuckle or to the Browning type wherein the pivoted nose provided with a tail-piece revolves on a solid bearing, buttress, or pillar formed on the draw-head, all of which can be done by the skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as the combining partsvia, the tail-piece and locking-pinare of substantially the same character in both types of coupler.

For purposes of convenience I have preferred to show the invention as applied to the Janney type of coupler.

One objectionable feature of the locking mechanism commonly employed in this class of couplers consists in the length of the locking-pin and the extent to which it pro ects beyond the head, as well as the necessity of securing the locking-pin by means of a cot- Serial No. 344,656. (No model.)

ter, all of which render it liable to be jammed, broken, and displaced. Another objectionable feature has been the extent of movement of the pin required to lock and unlock the tail-piece and release the pivoted nose.

The objects of my present invention are therefore, first, to so construct the locking pin that its escape is prevented by the tail-. piece, and, second, to limit the length of the locking-pin, aswell as the necessary movement thereof, and thus avoid such projection of the pin beyond the head as would render it liable to injury or displacement.

To this end the main feature of my invention consists in providing the lower end of a the locking-pin with a lug, projection, or offset which shall extend beyond and beneath the tail-piece when said tail-piece is at the end of its inward movement, whereby the withdrawal or escape of the locking-pin is prevented.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more specifically, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the draw-bar, terminating in the usual draw-head 2, with its two horns or guard-finger 3 and knuckle 4, and with the curved buffing-face 5. The part 4 may have the pin-holes for the pivot-pin 6 of the Janney type, as shown, or it may be in the form of the solid bearing or buttress used by other well-known forms of twin couplers at the will of the const-ructer. In either case the draw-head 2 will be recessed or chambered S 5 out in the rear of said part 4 for the reception of the tail-piece 7 'of the pivoted nose 8.

9 9 indicate short projections or posts, which project from the top and bottom walls of the head slightly in advance of the side wall, so 0 that when the tail-piece 7 is at the end of its inward movement said post-s enter recesses 10 on the upper and under surface of the tailpiece, and sustain the shock or blow of the tail-piece. Owing to the slight play or lost motion allowed between the pivoted nose 8 and its bearing (or pivot-pin) (5, said posts also engage with the tail-piece and relieve the pivot-pin from direct strain. I

11 indicates the locking-pin for locking the IOC tail-piece of the pivoted'nose. Said lockingpin is arranged in the path of the tail-piece 7, and has on its face a beveled recess 12 for the passage of the tail-piece, and on its looking side, in substantially the same plane as recess 12, a second recess 13 of somewhat greater extent than recess 12, so that when coupling on curves the tail-piece 7 can escape from recess 12 into side recess 13 and allow a partial drop of the pin to form a partial lock for the tail-piece before said pin 11 can fall its whole distance. On the locking side of pin 11, above the recess 13, is a suspension shoulder or lip 14 for suspending the pin from the draw-head when it is desired to uncouple the cars.

Projecting laterally, or preferably diago-- nally, from one corner of the locking-pin at its lower end, is an offset or projection 15 of sufficient size to project beyond and beneath the tail-piece 7 when the tail-piece is closed or at the end of its inward movement. The tail-piece 7, it will be observed, will, owing to this construction, always rest over some portion of the locking-pin or its projection, and thus prevent the removal or escape of the locking-pin. The pin-holes 16 16, formed in the draw-head 2 for the locking-pin 11 must be so formed as to permit the passage of the projection 15 on the pin. The tail-piece 7 of the pivoted nose 8 is slightly tapered or beveled to pass the recess 12 in the face of the locking-pin 11, which tapering form of thetail-piece reduces measurably the required vertical movement of the pin in looking and unlocking the tail-piece and pivoted nose.

The parts being constructed substantially as specified are set up by first inserting the locking-pin 11 in the pin-holes 16 16 of the draw-head and suspending it by the lip or shoulder 14:, the same as when unlocking the coupler, after which the tail-piece 7 of pivoted nose 8 can be entered and the pivot-pin 6 inserted in the knuckle to secure the parts. As the tail-piece 7 rests in the recess 12 in the face of the locking-pin when the coupler is open, as shown in Fig. 1, and the tail-piece 7 stands over the projection 15 on the lower end of the pin when the coupler is closed, as shown in Fig. 2, dotted line, it follows that when the parts are setup the locking-pin cannot at any time escape or be lost, and as all that portion of the pin heretofore required to project below the head and receive the cotter is dispensed with it follows that the lockingpin is fully shielded by the head and is not liable to be wedged or broken.

The operation of the devices is as follows: As shown in Fig. 1, the coupler is open and in position to make a coupling. When the pivoted nose 8 of its fellowstrikes the projecting tail-piece 7, it will cause the said tail-piece to recede into the draw-head, thus escaping from the recesss 12 in the face of the locking-pin 11, which permits the locking-pin 11 to drop and prevent the return or outward movement of the tail-piece. The tail-piece 7 though at the end of its inward movement still stands overor in the path ofprojection 15 on the lower end of the locking-pin, and so the pin 11 can not be withdrawn. To uncouple, the lockingpin 11 is raised until the projection 15 strikes the under surface of the tail-piece 7, which.

will bring the recess 12 in the face of the locking-pin in the same plane as the tail-piece, and the locking-pin is then tilted and suspended by the lip or, shoulder 14:. The tailpiece 7 can now pass out, and in its outward movement in uncoupling when the tail-piece 7 enters recess 12 it trips the locking-pin 11 oif of lip 14, and carries or supports the locking-pin until its next inward or coupling movement, at which time it again drops the pin and makes the look, as before specified.

Having thus described the nature and operation and advantages of my invention,what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a car-coupling, the combination,with a recessed draw-head, of a pivoted nose havin g a tail-piece which enters the recess of the head and a locking-pin having a projection or oifset on its lower end, which offset projects beneath and beyond the tail-piece, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a recessed draw-head, of a pivot-ed nose having a tail-piece which enters the recess of the head and a locking-pin having a diagonal or lateral corner projection which extends beneath the tail-piece of the pivoted nose when the tail-piece is within the recess of the head, substantiallyas and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the tail-piece of a pivoted nose-coupler, of a locking-pin having a recess on its face for the passage of the tailpiece and a lateral projection which extends beneath the tail-piece, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. In a car-coupler, the combination, with a recessed draw-head, ofa pivoted nose having a tail-piece which enters the recess of the head and a locking-pin having the ofifset or projection 15 at its lower end, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in

presence of two witnesses, this 11th day of March, 1890.

THOMAS L. MCKEEN.

Witnesses:

E. G. BUCHANAN, MELVIN O. HASCALL.

IIO 

